~
Gabe was right when he said we would have a good week with Ava. It's been a blast, even the sun was out for most of it, we shopped, we lunched, we even had a spa day up at the hot springs when Gabe went into the office on Thursday, just us girls and I've got to say, I really enjoyed myself. It gave me a chance for some grooming and I allowed the girls to have a manicure and a pedicure whilst I have my eyebrows waxed and eyelashes tinted. They are two pretty mature thirteen year old girls and with Gabe out of the way we talk about boys. Neither of them has ever been kissed properly, they both have boys that they fancy but no boyfriends. Sophie has started her periods but Ava is really worried because she still hasn’t. I tell her to chat to her mum and Stella and find out when they started because that would be an indicator of when she would start. Shit, after saying that, I hope they were older than thirteen. Then they turn the tables and ask me if I love Gabe, I explain that we are still a very new couple but I care for him very much. Sophie makes me laugh or LOL as they say, yes, they actually say LOL, when she tells me that she thinks Gabe is the hottest dad she has ever known. Waaaaay hotter than her dad apparently.
By Friday, Gabe is pretty strung out. Work is stressful, entertaining two teenagers has worn him out mentally and I think, he is also stressed about how Ava and I are getting along, On top of this, Ryder is refusing to take my calls, no doubt Julie has got the word out there about myself and Gabe and as much as I have tried to hide it from him, he knows how much it’s getting me down. He is also acutely aware of how stressed I am about meeting the rest of his family tomorrow, so on Friday night we order takeout and play on the Wii; he beats us all and shows no mercy and I hope that it’s made him feel just a little bit better. By the time we call it a night and head off to bed, he seems a little more relaxed than he has the last couple of days. Despite the girls being down in their own room we can hear them giggle and laugh and scream.
“Do girls not have volume control?” he says an hour after we have gone to bed. He's only joking, I think! We have been talking about Ryder's refusal to take my calls. I'm upset about it but I know how much Jays continuous calls piss me off when I don't want to talk to him, so I haven't called since Wednesday and have said that I will leave it for a few more days and just wait and see. Gabe disagrees.
“Why don't you just go round and see him and sort things out?”
“No, I know what he's like, if I go round it will just piss him off more, I'll leave it until after the weekend and if I haven’t heard from him still, then I’ll go around to his place”
“Well if your sure baby”
“No Gabe, I'm not sure but that's what I'm going to do, so can we drop it please? What did you say we would take to your Dads tomorrow? Do I need to cook something and what’s your Dad’s name, you've never told me”
We are curled up together, my head on his chest, my arm and leg over and around him, his arm around me. As soon as I mention tomorrow, I feel him tense. I'm starting to worry now that he's worrying about me meeting his family. Is he wondering what they will think, of me? Shit, I bet he’s embarrassed.
“It’s sorted, we are in charge of seafood, I've arranged for it to be delivered, and my Dad’s name is Charlie”
“I don’t have to go you know, I will understand if you want to just take the girls”
“What are you talking about Lauren?” He pushes himself up on his elbow and looks down at me.
“To your dads, if you don’t want to take me, I do understand, I don’t want you to be embarrassed and feel like you have to take me”
He moves so that he can see my face. “What the fuck are you going on about, why would I be embarrassed? I can’t wait to introduce you to my family; you know for a clever woman, you really do talk shit at times”
Okaaay!
He kisses the top of my head and I get the feeling that that's the end of our conversation or that topic at least.
After such a busy week, we are both soon asleep.
I dream, I don't remember exactly what about but I remember being inspected and poked by a crowd of people and they are all saying “No, no, no”
I wake continuously and a couple of times Gabe has to wake me and calm me down. The other thing I'm aware of is really bad cramps in my belly. Looks like I've got a period on the way. Oh Joy!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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As I start to wake in the morning, I'm aware that both my head and my tummy ache. I don't want to open my eyes incase doing so makes my head hurt more but when I do, Gabe is laying alongside, facing me. He strokes my cheek with the back of his index finger.
“Good morning baby, are you okay?”
I blink a few times and smile at him
“Good morning yourself handsome. No I feel like shit”
“What was going on last night, what were you dreaming about?”